Energy' exchange between the atmosphere and the underlying ground is an objectof interest in many branches of physical geography. So far this exchange has beenstudied in the most detailed way as a basic climatogenic process, but, on the otherhand, it is one of the most significant physicogeographical processes. The significanceof that broader aspect of energy exchange was stressed by Armand (1980),Budyko (1974), Chorley and Kennedy (1971), Miller (1981) and others. This articletreats the process of energy exchange between the atmosphere and the underlyingground as one of the most important processes which shape the temporal andspatial structure of the environment and determine the functioning of the environment.The notion of the functioning of the environment should be Understood asthe stability of a definite sequence of changes of different states'of the environmentunder the influence of differentiated solar energy influx. This definition is close tothe definition of the functioning of the environment proposed by many authors.For example, Blazhko et al. (1979) emphasize that the functioning is a processwhich transforms the environment, i.e. changes the number and degree of heterogeneityof components and relations occurring in that environment. Thus, functioningis a developmental process of the geosystem and determines its dynamics. Therepresentation of energy exchange in the form of a map is a significant issue fromthe geographical point of view because it makes it possible to carry out a temporaland spatial analysis of this process.

Valleys of the rivers of the Polish Lowland have already been dealt with innumerous geomorphological studies (Lencewicz 1927; Galon 1934, 1953, 1961, 1968;Kozarski 1962; Kozarski and Szupryczyński 1958: Niewiarowski 1968; Wiśniewski1976 and others). However, the above compilations discuss chiefly single valleyforms and are mostly intended to describe their Pleistocene history against theprogressing recession of an ice sheet. A lot of valuable results are available in thisrespect. On the other hand, there are no detailed studies concerning the problemof the Late Glacial and Holocene evolution of valleys understood as river systemscomprising tributaries and their parent river. The present paper is intended to fillin the gap. Its objective is to present interrelationships in the development of threemediumsized tributaries of the Vistula river, i.e. the rivers Zgłowiączka, Mień andTążyna, against the common local baselevel, i.e. the Vistula, that remained changeable,especially in the Late Glacial (Fig. 1). Several-year geomorphological studies carriedout within the above valleys were concerned with the identification of factorscontributing to similarities and differences in the mode of development of thosevalleys, and with the tentative reconstruction of the operation and general natureof fluvial processes on the Vistula.

The above problem presented in outline is undoubtedly a complex one since asyet no complete information has been provided concerning the response of a tributaryto a variety of alterations in the valley of the trunk river. Much controversy isalso caused by general trends in the operation of fluvial processes at the timeinterval between the glacial and interglacial. especially by a question of the beginningof phases of fluvial erosion and deposition (Soergel 1921; Penck 1938; Jahn 1956;Schumm 1965; Galon 1968). The above problem has been tackled in more detailby Kozarski and Rotnicki (1978).

The present author carried out studies of the lower parts of the valleys, i.e. theirportions developed within terraces along the Vistula valley as far as the plateau.The compilation of a detailed geomorphological map at a scale of 1 : 10.000 wasbased on air photos. Structural-textural analysis was made of genetically varyingvalley fills.

This study deals largely with the Zgłowiączka valley where a wider range ofinvestigations were carried out. Besides a detailed geomorphological-sedimentologicalstudy, they included the dating of

The aim of this paper is to present the application of drainage density exclusivelyfor evaluation of the mean ratio of base flow to total runoff, or in other words,the share of base flow in total runoff, within ungauged basins. Only a few basins,especially those of small areas have been observed long enough to evaluate themean outflow, including base flow. In majority of small drainage basins the outflowhasnot been measured. For this reason it would be useful to find a relationshipbetween base flow and a parameter, by origin bound to base flow. Drainage densitycan be considered such parameter. In this paper drainage density has not been usedas an input for rainfall-runoff modelling, so it can be treated as a static parameter.Knowledge of the ratio of base flow to total runoff may have practical applications.On the basis of this ratio it is possible to, indirectly, estimate water resources.The higher the ratio, the less variable the discharges and the lesser the droughts.

Ice jamming phenomena on rivers in temperate and high geographical latitudesare often the cause of severe floods. Water level rises caused by ice jams areviolent and difficult to forecasting. Information on this subject is still very scanty(Bolsenga 1968; E. R. Ficke and J. F. Ficke 1977; Michel 1971). In a great majorityof cases accurate pinpointing of the site and height of the jam water level rise isvery difficult. This kind of research should therefore be proceeded by listing the icejamming phenomena on a given river as the basic starting material for fixing thejamming river reaches and for planning hydro-power stations (Williams and MacKay1973). An engineer is now always faced with the difficult job of estimating a priorithe rise in water level as a result of ice formation.The necessity of conducting investigations on jam floods has been often pointedout in Polish literature (Kolberg 1861; Słowikowski 1881. 1892; Puciata 1894; Walewander1932; Kobendzina 1954; Mikulski 1955, 1957, 1962; Wokroj 1954; Tyszka1954; Pasławski 1970), as well as in papers concerning ice phenomena (Gołek 1957;Zubrzycki 1927). Only disastrous jam floods have been adopted as the scale ofthe jam. The floods caused by ice jam overflow the populated areas in the rivervalley and bring forth much damage. The main aim of the present paper was topresent a historical record of the greatest water level rises due to ice jams onthe Lower Vistula, the regions in which they formed and their main causes.

The recent fast development of processes of' industrialization and urbanizationwhich brings about far-reaching structural changes in geographical space makes usseek the most optimal solutions in landscape planning and management. On theone hand, such solutions must protect still existing natural areas whose share inthe total area is progressively decreasing and aim at making the anthropogenicimpact on the environment as limited as possible, and, on the other, they musttake into account dynamic changes of biotopes' characteristics and, thus, determinethe strength and pace of degradation of the environment under the influence ofintensifying man's activity. To work out a concept which would meet these postulates,it is necessary to have such methods which would make it possible, in a short time,to obtain as many data on the investigated environment as possible, and especiallythose which characterize potential biotic values of habitats. This makes geographersface new methodological tasks as todate research on the natural environmentemploying field-laboratory methods requires high expenditure of work and is verytime-consuming, and the results obtained from this research not always give fullcharacteristics of habitats' potential values. Therefore, the search for new methodicalsolutions should be expanded to other branches of science dealing with research onthe natural environment, and primarily to different biological sciences. The basis forworking out a new method of landscape research should be provided by scientificachievements obtained in those branches.The aim of this study is to present one of the methods of research on thenatural environment which is of an interdisciplinary character, i.e. plant bioindication(phytoindication) which excellently supplements methods traditionally employedin landscape planning and modelling. The analysis presented in this study includesresults of Polish studies with particular regard to results obtained on the basis ofa method which is even more broadly employed in landscape research in Poland,namely, the Ellenberg method (1950, 1952, 1974, 1979).

The present paper considers the basic information we have on the biomass,productivity and distribution of pine forests in Poland and the distribution of airpollution with sulphur in the same area. It is already well known that coniferousforests are particularly susceptible to pollution with sulphur oxides; they disappearfrom large areas in many regions of Poland and other countries of Central Europe.Air pollution with sulphur is likely to be continued in Poland for a long time sincethe main source of sulphur is coal combustion, and coal will be the basic sourceof energy in Poland for a long time. Preliminary estimates of the present situationand some predictions for pine forests in Poland are based on materials from forestinventories made by forestry services, on results of detailed ecological investigationsconducted in some stands, and on a comparison of two maps: the most recentsatellite map of land use and a prognostic map of air pollution.

The Khentei mountain massif is situated between the mountains of the SouthSiberian Mountains and Central Asian Plain.

The study area is situated within the Khentei block, which is part of a Paleozoicfolded system. The Khentei block is bounded by deep disrupted faults. There aregeosynclinal flysch metamorphic and deformed Paleozoic deposits in the Hercinianand Caledonian orogeneses (Klimek, Ziętara and Tserensodnom 1980). At that timethere appeared granitoid intrusions connected with belts of deep disruptions. Due tothe appearance of abyssal fissures and to the block uplifting of some sites and tothe massive magmatism, the huge synclinorium underwent a fundamental deformationto yield a varied orogen (Klimek, Ziętara and Tserensodnom 1980; Malarz1980) which is dominated by large tectonic dislocations.

This paper deals with the results of research on contemporary geomorphologicalprocesses. The research was carried out in 1975 and 1977 during the Mongolian-Polish Physical-Geographical Expeditions organized by the Polish and MongolianAcademies of Sciences.

Geomorphological explorations in different climatic zones were conducted mainlyby geomorphological mapping (Fig. 1), at scales 1 : 100 000 and 1 :25 000. Attemptwas made to show relief correlation with geological structure and to define maindevelopment stages associated with climatic variations. In order to evaluate thecontemporary relief transformation a map of present-day geomorphological processesfor the entire basin was prepared and morphoclimatic zones were distinguished.

The differentiation of landscape belts is related to climatic conditions. Meantemperatures of the warmest month (July) range from 15°C in the middle stretchof the valley to about 5°C in its upper regions (Brzeźniak and Malarz 1980). Insummer pronounced thermic inversion is observed in valley bottoms. The yearlyprecipitation total on the foothills amounts to 250-300 mm and increases to 500 mmon the Baga-Khentei ridges. The heaviest and frequently occurring precipitation isobserved in summer towards the end of June and in July. During our stay in theregion the precipitation totals were 88 mm in the middle and 133.8 mm in the upperareas of the Sugnugurin-gol valley. In winter a continuous snow cover persists, itsthickness increase with the altitude. The thickness and duration of snow coverdepends on the morphology and aspect of the slopes. On north-east slopes patchesof snow survive in the taiga till around the middle of June, while in the tundrathey are still found towards the end of July.

The Middle-Khalkhasian Upland which exists on the southern foreland of theKhentei in Mongolia separates these mountains from the Gobi Plain. Even if thisplateau is actually riverless the landscape is characterized by a net of broad andlong valleys. Period of valley formation is correlated with the Pleistocene when thearea was modelled by large permanent rivers flowing from the North to the Southunder humid and severe climatic regime. Soil covers on slopes contain features ofthe ancient humid climate as well as of dry continental climate (Kowalkowski andLomborinchen 1975). They indicate very advanced slope evolution and infilling oftectonic undrained depressions of this technically active region in the Holocene.Discontinuous permafrost which exists at present was also responsible for theHolocene morphogenesis.

The programme of field works was concerned mainly with the manner of slopedevelopment after the phase of Pleistocene pluvio-fluvial erosion and contemporaneousgeomorphic processes. Periglacial slopes located in higher elevations were excludedfrom this study as they have been analysed separately (Kotarba 1980).

This paper investigates the variation of stability connected with the process ofcomplication of the organization of spatial systems.

Two basic notions used in the investigation are conceived here in a differentway than in standard systems analysis, although we base ourselves on it. Hence,they require new definitions. The notions are: stability and equilibrium. Stabilityis meant as the convergence with the state of equilibrium. A system is less stableif it diverges more from the state of equilibrium. By the equilibrium of a systemwe understand mutual adjustment of its subsystems (elements, connections). Theequilibrium, as it is conceived here, cannot be defined, however, in a unique way.It can be determined only by the comparison with the assumed reference system.We assume that the system is in equilibrium if its subsystems are adjusted in the sameor higher degree than that of reference system. In spatial context, the equilibriummeans the same or lesser spatial differentiation in comparison with the referencesystem.

Defined in this way, the equilibrium can be a desired state of spatial organizationof a system, and the investigation of instability can be essential for the determinationof intervention needed to direct the system towards the state of equilibrium.

Spatial systems considered in this paper are self-organizing in the sense ofPrigogine's theory. They are open and linked with the environment, far fromuniformity, and the interactions between their elements reveal nonlinearities.

Spatial organization complicates as the system develops. This implies the changeof its stability. The investigation of stability gives insight in important propertiesof spatial systems.

Although the investigation of stability against complexity was the starting pointof this paper, its final result turned out to be more significant from other pointof view. It enabled the modification of an acknowledged theorem of regionalscience.

The subject of the present paper is the effect of changes in the sectoral structureof activities on the spatial structure of the economy in the stage of transitionfrom traditional agricultural to modern industrial society. The structural changesin the national economy, constituting both the conditions and the outcome of theprocess of economic development, comprise — in broad categories of sectors ofeconomy and in terms of employment — the increasing share of employment inindustry and services as well as the decreasing share of employment in agriculture,resulting from relatively high rates of growth in the two former sectors and low,or negative, growth rates in the agricultural sector.

The purpose of the present paper is to use analogy of one of the fundamentalconcepts of quantum mechanics to derive a negative exponential random variabledistribution defining the statistical character of the relationship between distanceand the intensity of interaction in a functional space. The functional space in thecontext of the paper is the space in which distance is measured in terms ofintervening opportunities. The random variable distribution obtained will play therole of distance decay function in the intervening opportunities model of spatialinteraction.

If recent trends continue, the extent of inter-regional migration in Europe willdrop, by the mid-1980s, far below the level of the mid-1970s.1 This may be solelydue to the evolving age structure of the population, and in particular to thediminishing proportion in the total of those age groups traditionally characterizedby the highest propensity to move. If the increase in the demand for labourcontinues to be slow, the turnover of jobs on the regional scale may also decrease,thus reinforcing what may be viewed as a period of relative stability in urbanand regional patterns.

Contrary to the'situation prevailing in the developed countries recent experiencethroughout the Third World suggests an acceleration of population flows betweenindividual regions and from rural to urban areas. Such intensive migrations aregenerated both by continuous demographic dynamics and by the inevitable economicstructural change, which results in large-scale transfers toward centers of secondaryand tertiary occupations.

Under the term of living standards we understand a vast complex of problems,such as determinants of living conditions, favoured models of consumption, style orway of life, to begin with. Living standards have their global dimension on thescale of a continent, given civilization or state and, at the same time, an individualand physical dimension related to a man, a family, a household, a social-professionalgroup, regional or local community", as well as to social strata and classes. Theyare a resultant of the effects of many different factors and undergo constant changes.This variability comes as a result of historical processes, economic-political situationof the country, and curriculum vitae of individuals (Ciechocińska 1981, 1983).

In classical anthropological approaches the stress is laid on the influence ofgeographical environment upon living standards and dependencies are pointed outbetween properties of physical and socio-economic spaces. Disregarding the difficultieswhen it comes to operationalization, there are many adherents of integrated approachwhich combine working, recreation and housing conditions. It should be stressed,however, that such approaches incur demographic-social limitations as not all membersof the population are — for instance —professionally active.

Living standards are a product of definite social relations formed under a givenpolitical-economic system which, in general, determines the existence of permissibledisparities, as well as the terms of access to socially valued goods. In the presentstudy the problems of living standards have been confined exclusively to regionaldisparities resulting from differences in the levels of socio-economic development.The existing disparities have been produced by a centuries long historical process and byspatial inequality of economic development. These phenomena are well known andbroadely described in literature. Now they are put to an empirical test underconditions of socialist industrialization doctrine carried into effect, and of a changeddynamics of economic growth in a socialized and centrally planned economy.

The topic of the present article, as presented in the title, requires the clarificationof two issues. The first issue, and perhaps the more important of the two,concerns the different status of human environment protection and tourism,1 respectively,in the national economy and socio-economic planning. While tourism, in a number ofcountries, is an established branch of the national economy and is thus subjectto socio-economic planning, environmental protection is restricted to the activities ofscientists, nature conservationists, people involved in maintaining historic buildingsand monuments, etc.; in other words, it does not have the character of economicactivity.